Peter Pan Contender Captain Cook Looks for Redemption on Saturday’s Stacked Card in New York

[Wandering Eyes]

A competitive group of 3-year-olds have signed on for Saturday's GIII Peter Pan Stakes, headlining a quartet of graded stakes at the Big A Saturday.

Attempting to rebound off a last-out fourth as the favorite in the GII Wood Memorial Stakes in April, St Elias Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Captain Cook (Practical Joke) will try to revert to the form that saw him win a pair of tests at the New York oval. Sixth going six panels at Churchill in his career debut for Norm Casse last October, the bay galloped home a 9 1/4-length winner for Rick Dutrow, Jr. in a sloppy seven-furlong test at the Big A Dec. 28. Stretching to nine furlongs for the Feb. 1 Withers Stakes, Captain Cook again won as the favorite.

“We thought that he ran as good as he could,” said Dutrow, Jr. “He had everything go his way in the race and it seemed to me that he just kind of got outrun, and that is OK. He has bounced back in his training and he is doing good. We are very happy with him.”

Dutrow, Jr. also sends out Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Scott Rice and breeder Judy Hicks's McAfee (Cloud Computing), who finished 1 1/2 lengths behind Captain Cook in fifth in the Wood Memorial. The son of Sataves (Uncle Mo), who is a half-brother to 2024 Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna, also finished fifth in the one-turn mile GIII Gotham Stakes in March.

Facing the sole black-type winner in the field, Chad Brown offers up two, GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile third Hill Road (Quality Road) in addition to last-out debut winner Lordship (Gun Runner). The former, campaigned by Amo Racing USA, won his debut for trainer Adrian Murray at Leopardstown last August before failing to hit the board in the G1 Vincent O'Brien National Stakes at the Curragh in September. Let go at 61-1 for his U.S. bow on Breeders' Cup Day, the colt belied his odds to finish 4 3/4-lengths behind winner and ultimate juvenile champion Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) in the 1 1/16-mile test. Turned over to Brown, the colt kicked off his 3-year-old campaign with a third in the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 8. On tracked to start in the Wood, the colt was scratched due to a fever.

“He's doing great,” confirmed Brown. “He's fully recovered from the temperature and looks good. I'm pleased with him.”

“It's a really strong crop so, if he's able to get to the Belmont [Stakes June 7], it will be a real challenging race, but we'll take it one race at a time.”

Also, lining up for Brown, Earle Mack's homebred Lordship, who came from off the pace to annex a 1 mile 40 yard-test at Tampa Mar. 22. Dylan Davis gets the call here.

“It looks like he's going to want more distance, and I thought this was a good spot to stretch him out. It's a big step for an inexperienced horse, but I do like the distance for him” Brown said. “We've taken our time with him and he's starting to come around now.”

Trainer Todd Pletcher is also represented by a pair of colts here–Vassimo (Nyquist), officially credited with one win from two starts in Florida who has finished off the board in a pair of graded starts since in addition to Uncaged (Curlin), a first-out winner at Saratoga last summer who most recently won in his second start of the season when going a mile in the mud at the Big A last month. The former, owned by Team Penney Racing, will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., while the latter, campaigned by WinStar Farm and Mike Repole, will have Kendrick Carmouche in the irons.

Stacked Stakes Lineup on Saturday Card

Aqueduct's Saturday card also features a pair of Grade II events–the Ruffian and Man O' War Stakes. Last season's GII Black-Eyed Susan Stakes scorer Gun Song (Gun Runner) attempts to mark her first return to the winner's circle since a victory in Parx's Cathryn Sophia Stakes in August. Only a neck behind subsequent champion Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) in the GI Cotillion Stakes, she found herself a head behind 'Rising Star' Tarifa (Bernardini) in the GII Mother Goose over this track in October. Favored in her latest start, she was a well-beaten third going a mile in a Gulfstream optional claimer Mar. 13. Also in the lineup, dual graded stakes winner My Mane Squeeze (Audible) makes her first start back since finishing third in Keeneland's GI Madison Stakes in addition to last-out winner of the nine-furlong Top Flight Invitational, Headline Numbers (Gun Runner). The former is trained by Mike Maker and the latter is conditioned by Chad Brown.

Multiple Grade I-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Far Bridge (English Channel) looks to bag his fifth career graded win in 1 3/8-mile Man O' War. Trained by Christophe Clement, the 5-year-old was last seen posting a neck score in the 1 1/2-mile GIII Pan American on Mar. 29 at Gulfstream in his seasonal bow. A winner of the 2023 GI Belmont Derby, the bay also added wins in the GI Sword Dancer and GI Turf Classic last season.

“He had three weeks off after the Pan American with no breezes because it was such a strong effort off the layoff,” said assistant trainer Miguel Clement. “He's coming into this race quite well.”

In the six-furlong GIII John A. Nerud, Full Moon Madness (Into Mischief) cuts back from the seven-furlong GII Carter Stakes after tiring to seventh. Prior to that effort, the 5-year-old won the GIII Tom Fool Stakes Mar. 1.

In addition to the racing action in New York, Churchill Downs hosts its sole graded test of the afternoon, the GIII Mamzelle Stakes. Recent Limestone Stakes winner 'TDN Rising Star' Shisospicy (Mitole) tries to add her third victory of the season, while second and third-place finishers out of that race–Dreamaway (Flameaway) and Abientot (Not This Time)–look to add to black-type wins last season.

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